Childcare in Blackburn area

Hi gals
I'm unexpectedly needing a day of childcare for Angus as soon as I can get it organised. I'm making a list of centres in the area and will start making some calls but would appreciate any recommendations people have in the Blackburn, Nunanwading, Mitcham, Box Hill area.
TIA

Hi Blackbird,
My DD has gone to the ABC centre on Canterbury rd in box hill south (between middleborough rd and station st) for 4 years. we live in blackburn and it is convenient for us. It was the one and only one I visited and I got a great "gut feel" from it and have never been disappointed with my decision. It has only been an ABC centre for about a year but I have not seen any bad changes since it has become ABC. they have just done an extension and so they are now quite large so you don't get a big age range of children in one room which is great as the littlies are starting to walk and don't get bowled over by the bigger children. A friend moved her 3 year old recently from another ABC in blackburn to the one we go to and she has been very happy. Let me know if you need any more information.

Blackburn South preschool (or kindergarten...can't remember) in Richmond Street in Blackburn south is where Ashlea went for 2 years when we lived in Melb and they were the most caring and wonderful and kind staff ever! Tracey the owner and Lynne, the Director and such beutiful and caring people and Ashlea always had such a fantastic time there.
I can't reccomment it highly enough :D
Let me know if you have any questions
ps: that is coming from an ex child care worker who looked at over 10 different centres

Thanks girls.

Anney - which one did your friend move from and why? I'm going to check out the ABC at the back of the medical centre and Blackburn Primary as it's only been an ABC for a year too. I'll def call the Box Hill Sth one too. We're not far from Canterbury Rd so it would be very easy.

Dee - I think that one's called Fabulous Kids now. One of the bubs in my mum's group is about to start there I think but someone else checked it out and didn't like it. I guess it's quite personal - I'll have a look myself. As someone from the industry, what would your advice be in terms of making a decision?

Hi Blackbird,
My friend moved her daughter from the one behind the medical centre in blackburn. it wasn't that she did not like it, as she left her 4 year old there, but mainly she felt that her almost 3 year old had outgrown the 2 year old room but they would not move her up a room. So she went to check out other centres and was surprised that ours had much better facilities (as she had only ever checked out the one place that was closest to her)
You will probably find ours has a vacancy as they have just expanded so had some vacancies.
It is a very personal decision and I think that the room leader and staff are the most important thing to consider. Would love to here what Dee has to say. (I am very impressed with someone who checks out 10 centres!)

Blackbird, the one in Richmond st is by no means the most 'done up' or 'new' looking centre, which initially made me concerned. It was the atmosphere and the staff and their approach and orientation that won me over in the end, after doing the whole "can i see the programing, the policies, what is your policy on dicipline, where are your daily information charts etc"
The director said to bring her in for an orientation morning and rather than leaving DD for a set time she said me to "go up to forest hill, have a coffee and a shop and we'll call you as soon as she starts to get upset or distressed or has seemed to have had enough" which is exactly what they did.

After going through the 'list' of things in the end it was my gut feeling about the people that would be caring for my child, not the look of the centre or the set up etc.

But the things worth checking out are the centres security, the time sheets, class programs, dicipline policies, hygiene and nappy changing policies etc, watch the staff interact with the children, do the children seem happy and clean. Ask things like do you provide nappies, food etc or do they, do you take sheets or do they provide sheets, how are they stored so the child is using the same sheets and not getting mixed up, how are dummies etc stored when not in use, how are the kids put to sleep there.

When DD went there they provided all the food which was wonferful cause it was one less thing for me to think about and it gives the child opportunities to try new things you may not offer them in a social enviroment where they may be more open to trying it. Bottles were stored in the fridge in the kitchen and named. The sheets were proivded and each child had their own set what were washed at the end of the week. Another thing I didn't have to worry about, and nappies were also provided for the children which made the cost less for me not having to send the nappies in.

In the end it ultimatley comes down to the feeling and atmosphere, check out the art work, question what art expereinces the younger children have, not all centres let the babies and toddlers play with 'messy' activites etc which is really good for their developtment. Go with your gut feeling and watch how they interact with the children. A nice looking centre can have the worst carers, so dont judge a place because of how new or fancy it looks, cause its not the builing watching out for your children :)

Good luck with it :D

Thanks ladies!! I went to both places today and they seem to be at opposite ends of the spectrum in terms of size and physical trimmings. I can see how you could be seduced by the presentation without looking at the quality of the actual care. Unfortunately I didn't see much interaction between staff and children as most of the babies were in their cots at the ABC and everyone was outside playing together at Richmond St. The children definitely seemed happy at Richmond St but it concerned me that it took quite a while for anyone to attend to a little one that was crying at the ABC. Maybe that's his usual behaviour but the assistant in that room didn't seem to be overly warm. I'm checking out Treasures further down Canterbury Rd tomorrow. I might try and go back to the others on a morning so I can observe more interaction.

Thanks ladies!! I went to both places today and they seem to be at opposite ends of the spectrum in terms of size and physical trimmings. I can see how you could be seduced by the presentation without looking at the quality of the actual care. Unfortunately I didn't see much interaction between staff and children as most of the babies were in their cots at the ABC and everyone was outside playing together at Richmond St. The children definitely seemed happy at Richmond St but it concerned me that it took quite a while for anyone to attend to a little one that was crying at the ABC. Maybe that's his usual behaviour but the assistant in that room didn't seem to be overly warm. I'm checking out Treasures further down Canterbury Rd tomorrow. I might try and go back to the others on a morning so I can observe more interaction.

Hi Blackbird,
Just had a thought, it would be a good idea to find out, before you went into the room, whether the usual carers are in the room at that time. could be that you are in there when the team break reliever is there. I totally understand you would not feel happy about someone not being "warm" so you would need to know whether the staff who are in there are going to be the main ones caring for your little man.
good luck.

Dont know Melbourne at all.

Blackbird I liked that at Richmond St the kids often all played outside together at the start and end of the day when the weather was nice, but eacxh had their own group time during the day outside too. It really promoted the family environment they had there and the kids were all such good friends.
In general, ABC centres are usually pretty well done up and nice looking, but like you said its easy to think a place looks wonderful but doesnt ensure the quality.
DD went to an ABC centre down here where we are now and it looks fantastic, but i'm also happy that the staff are also fantastic here. The staff would differ from place to place obviously.

Hi girls. Popped back in to say Angus is settled at Treasures on Canterbury Rd and loving it. I really appreciated your advice; it helped me feel more confident in my decision.

Great to hear you found the right place for Angus. Makes it so much easier when you and bubs are both happy :)